Abstract:

Migration is a well-recognized social determinant
with broad impact on public health.
Chile is one of the countries with the largest
numbers of immigrants in Latin America.
However, there are few official statistics regarding
the prevalence of diseases or health
conditions of immigrants in this country.
This article aims to contribute to the current
knowledge on the health of foreigners
in Chile, focusing on hospital morbidity in
Chile in 2012.
This was an observational, cross-sectional
study in which hospital discharge data in Chile,
2012 was analyzed through specific rates
along with absolute and percentage distributions,
both with and without pregnancy or
childbirth records, according to demographic
variables and health forecasts in the Chilean
and immigrant populations.
One area of major concern is the large
proportion of foreign population without
health insurance.